Tip Top Cafe

By far the best chicken fried steak around...and the gravy..oh the gravy. It compliments the steak in such a way. There baked potatoes, fries, and rolls are delicious. Only thing is remember to bring a check or cash. They don't take debit cards. more

What A DIVE!! more

Eaten here on more than one occasion and have never left impressed or satisfied. Food was not worth the hype. more

Eaten here on more than one occasion and have never left impressed or satisfied. Food was not worth the hype. more

Great homecooking and the pies are wonderful. Service staff was very attentive. You may have to wait a little bit but it is worth the time. One comment is that the fried chicken was crispy but lacked seasoning in the coating. Great onion rings!! more

Great homecooking and the pies are wonderful. Service staff was very attentive. You may have to wait a little bit but it is worth the time. One comment is that the fried chicken was crispy but lacked seasoning in the coating. Great onion rings!! more

My family ate here while we were vacationing in San Antonio. I had done a lot of research, trying to find out where the locals ate, and this place kept coming up as great. I must have missed something, because we were not impressed at all. The large stack of onion rings the people at the next table over ordered looked good, but they should have for almost $10.00! more

I'm a bit surprised by the negative reviews Tip Top has gotten here since they were on Triple D. I have enjoyed eating here since the mid-90s, and not a thing has changed since I started eating at Tip Top. For starters, I'm a huge fan of their onion rings. Tip Top is one of the few places that doesn't just completely drown their rings in batter. I like that the sweetness of the onion comes through loud and clear in their rings instead of the taste of oil and salt one usually associates with the appetizer. Their chicken-fried steak is heavily battered, but I have no complaints there because that's how I like it best. The gravy they put under it is delicious too and the portion size is pretty generous in addition. I can live without the fries they serve with it though. I have also tried their fried chicken and came away impressed; juicy inside, crispy outside. The cheese enchiladas are pretty solid; a bit greasy with lots of cheese, but still good. Their homemade pies are pretty solid too, but I almost never have room for desert because of the size of the plates and my need to get rings whenever I go. The only entree I have tried that I didn't care for was their seafood platter; it's breaded way too heavily and ends up tasting like the overly salted deep-fried stuff you'd get at a Long John Silver's. All in all though, I'd highly recommend Tip Top as an excellent place to grab a chicken-fried steak and a rootbeer float. Pros: Delicious chicken fried steak, fried chicken, and onion ring Cons: They sell bottled sodas, so no refills. more

I'm a bit surprised by the negative reviews Tip Top has gotten here since they were on Triple D. I have enjoyed eating here since the mid-90s, and not a thing has changed since I started eating at Tip Top. Pros: Delicious chicken fried steak, fried chicken, and onion ring Cons: They sell bottled sodas, so no refills. more

I had the displeasure of dining there the day DDD filmed there. I had been reading some reviews at another forum and the day I decide to go, the Food Nework is there filming. "Great!" a friend and I thought. There was a line, it looked promising. We were seated within 10 mins no biggie, I've waited longer. The staff was a little slow, but we excused them bc the filming crew had the whole place crowded. We tried to ignore all the fuss going on and ordered a plate of onion rings. Now there are quite a few people singing the high praises of the onion rings I just knew this was going to a mutli-mouthgasmic experience. Instead I felt like a lover who got the short end of the stick...pun intended. The onions ring although plentiful, were lacking ANY kind of seasonings. It was a huge let down. I went on to order the fried chicken, because this looks like the type of place Grandma is in the back carefully soaking chicken in buttermilk. It was more like poor Granny was in the back slumped over a deep freezer trying her best to chisel chicken out of a pre-battered box. The portion was huge, but again lackluster, the mashed potatoes, we just mashed potatoes nothing fancy. The salad, iceberg with an obligatory sprinkling of carrot and red cabbage. Depressing right? My friend ordered the CFS, which was also the main reason we decided to patron Tip Top. It came "plate-sized" as many had promised. They failed to mention that if my eyes were closed had I taken a bite out of the plate I wouldn't know the difference. The CFS was bland, and the batter way too thick. The batter to meat ration was way off in favor of the batter. Ungodly I thought, but the locals seemed to be enjoying their dinners. It must've been the cameras right? Or perhaps I should've gathered from the large Golden Girls crowd the food would reflect that theme. I tried back a few months later, hoping I had been wrong about this local San Antonio institute...but to my avail, the same tasteless over sized food. I'm beginning to think the larger the portion the better some SAntonians think the food taste. Quality people....def not quantity! Pros: Old Timey decor Cons: The food more

I had the displeasure of dining there the day DDD filmed there. I had been reading some reviews at another forum and the day I decide to go, the Food Nework is there filming. ""Great!"" a friend and I thought. There was a line, it looked promising. We were seated within 10 mins no biggie, I've waited longer. The staff was a little slow, but we excused them bc the filming crew had the whole place crowded. We tried to ignore all the fuss going on and ordered a plate of onion rings. Now there are quite a few people singing the high praises of the onion rings I just knew this was going to a mutli-mouthgasmic experience. Instead I felt like a lover who got the short end of the stick...pun intended. The onions ring although plentiful, were lacking ANY kind of seasonings. It was a huge let down. I went on to order the fried chicken, because this looks like the type of place Grandma is in the back carefully soaking chicken in buttermilk. It was more like poor Granny was in the back slumped over a deep freezer trying her best to chisel chicken out of a pre-battered box. The portion was huge, but again lackluster, the mashed potatoes, we just mashed potatoes nothing fancy. The salad, iceberg with an obligatory sprinkling of carrot and red cabbage. Depressing right? My friend ordered the CFS, which was also the main reason we decided to patron Tip Top. It came ""plate-sized"" as many had promised. They failed to mention that if my eyes were closed had I taken a bite out of the plate I wouldn't know the difference. The CFS was bland, and the batter way too thick. The batter to meat ration was way off in favor of the batter. Ungodly I thought, but the locals seemed to be enjoying their dinners. It must've been the cameras right? Or perhaps I should've gathered from the large Golden Girls crowd the food would reflect that theme. I tried back a few months later, hoping I had been wrong about this local San Antonio institute...but to my avail, the same tasteless over sized food. I'm beginning to think the larger the portion the better some SAntonians think the food taste. Quality people....def not quantity! Pros: Old Timey decor Cons: The food more

After seeing on Diners Drive-ins and Dives from the food network we made the trip across town to try this place. We expected it to be really good, since it was featured on the food network. I did check website first and knew it was cash only, so I was prepared for that. Our family of 4 was sat in a really tiny booth, and served bottled and canned drinks...Had onion rings to start....no flavor...there was no kids menu, just ordered grilled cheese sandwiches for kids...had to but them happy meals on the way home.. My enchiladas were okay, nothing special, I could make them at home. My husband was not thrilled with his food either. The apple pie was down right disgusting!!!! Chocolate ice box pie was the only good thing and the 4 of us shared it...We will not be returning! Pros: prices not too bad Cons: cash only, no kids menu more

When we first walked in, we noticed the ""Cash Only"" sign. Wish we would have known that when we went to the bank and deposited everything we had before going to eat here. Lucky I had my emergency $25 hidden in my wallet. I had the Country Fried Steak Sandwich. I figured it's a sandwich with their famous CFS, so why not. With every bite I could feel the moisture in my mouth getting sucked dry. My husband had the ""famous"" Country Fried Steak Platter, and it was better, because at least it had gravy to combat the dryness. I wish they could be more generous with the gravy, because it really needed it. I love Japanese Chicken Katsu and I like Milanesa, and the Country Fried Steak doesn't compare. I'm used to having a somewhat thick layer of batter, but Tip Top's steak's batter is almost pancake thick. I could barely tell the steak was there. Pros: ... Cons: Cash Only more

If possible, I would have given this dump a 1/2 star. more

If possible, I would have given this dump a 1/2 star. Nostalgic, Historic, Landmark? If I want something archaic, I'll defrost it from my deep freeze. The VERY WORST THING ABOUT THIS PLACE IS THE WAITRESSES. Some idiot wrote a comment about the "waiters" here. There are no waiters here, ONLY waitresses! And they are the bottom of the barrell. The only thing they can read is the menu, they're toothless, and the can only find their way to two places: work to the TipTop when they wake up, and the trailor park after work. WHAT A DUMP!!!! more

My family and a group of friends had the pleasure of eating at DeWese's Tip Top Cafe this past weekend. My husband and I travel quite a bit and love eating good food. My husband has always said never eat at a restaurant where you don't see a lot of cars. Yes it was packed and we were willing to wait. The cafe was packed the waiter was very very nice. The owner came over to our table and greeted us. She made us feel right at home. She also brought the chef out and he greeted us also. The chicken fried steaks was enormous. I can't eat onion rings boy I had to try these, ENJOYED them! I found something different,my gray was under the steak and potatoes it was great. We travel to San Antoinio twice a year for business and this is where we will eat each and every time. I think that it was great The Food Network featured this cafe it is a great place because of the people work there and the great food. (Next time I think I will try their shrimp) Pros: service was good as well as the food Cons: big crowd need more parking, great place need to expand more

My family and a group of friends had the pleasure of eating at DeWese's Tip Top Cafe this past weekend. Pros: service was good as well as the food Cons: big crowd need more parking, great place need to expand more

We are two local Chef's who dine all over the San Antonio and Austin area in search for the best foods that locals or travelers can dine at. This time we were in search for the best chicken fried steak and ended up at Tip Top Cafe because of all the hype they get. Unfortunately, it was the worst money spent. We walked into a packed lunch not knowing what we were in for. We can personaly tell you, it was not much at all. We ordered the fried onion rings to start. First off, the onions were over fried. the batter was falling off. Even bland with no flavor at all. We sat waiting hoping the next course would be better, the chicken fried steak. It finally came. We got the gravy on the side with mash potatoes. The plate came with a side salad. What bothered both of us was the small salad was on the same plate as the somewhat semi warm chicken fried steak, so the salad got nasty warm. The meat was very bland and extremely dry. The batter had no flavor as well as the very small portion of instant powdered mash potatoes(nasty). The corn bread was so dry(like eating a hockey puck)not even the butter made it moist. We were very rushed and not treated at all like you would expect. Like people on a bad roller coaster, get them in, get them out. IT WAS THE FIRST TIME DINING THERE, THE ABSOLUTE WORST DINING EXPERIENCE, AND WE CAN GUARANTEE IT WILL BE THE LAST TIME WE EVER SET FOOT IN TIP TOP'S CAFE! more

We are two local Chef's who dine all over the San Antonio and Austin area in search for the best foods that locals or travelers can dine at. This time we were in search for the best chicken fried steak and ended up at Tip Top Cafe because of all the hype they get. Unfortunately, it was the worst money spent. We walked into a packed lunch not knowing what we were in for. We can personaly tell you, it was not much at all. We ordered the fried onion rings to start. First off, the onions were over fried. the batter was falling off. Even bland with no flavor at all. We sat waiting hoping the next course would be better, the chicken fried steak. It finally came. We got the gravy on the side with mash potatoes. The plate came with a side salad. What bothered both of us was the small salad was on the same plate as the somewhat semi warm chicken fried steak, so the salad got nasty warm. The meat was very bland and extremely dry. The batter had no flavor as well as the very small portion of instant powdered mash potatoes(nasty). The corn bread was so dry(like eating a hockey puck)not even the butter made it moist. We were very rushed and not treated at all like you would expect. Like people on a bad roller coaster, get them in, get them out. IT WAS THE FIRST TIME DINING THERE, THE ABSOLUTE WORST DINING EXPERIENCE, AND WE CAN GUARANTEE IT WILL BE THE LAST TIME WE EVER SET FOOT IN TIP TOP'S CAFE! Your Friends, Chef Eric Valdez. & Chef Ruben Montemayor. If you have any questions about local restaurants in San Antonio please contact us on myspace. more

Featured on the Food Network(Dinner's and Drive Inn's) Guy Fieri praised the Roast Pork and said " I now know what I am going to cook for my family at Thanksgiving". As a longtime customer I can assure you that the food is the best in SA. The food is made from scratch(they even cut their own beef)and prepared with love and recipes that have been in place since the place opened some 70 yrs ago in the same place. There is no place in San Antonio or for many other cities in Texas that have the best chicken fried steak( which is almost hangs over the large plate) and the onion rings are tasty and piled as high as a ten gallon hat. The staff is very friendly and act as one big happy family. The prices have not really changed as much as the years have gone by and are downright reasonable. All in all one the best places for good ole fashioned homemade Texas comfort food. more